Bad company corrupts good character. That's what my mum told me. That's what I've told my children. That's what I've told converted Christians that wanted to witness in bars. But does bad company really corrupt good character?
When I think about the life of Jesus I have to answer "not all of the time". Jesus was our perfect example and, other than the disciples, He hung out with what was considered to be bad company. Where did Jesus eat many of his meals? He ate with tax collectors who were considered the worst sinners because they generally stole from the poor. Tax collectors like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) and Matthew (Matt:9-11) hosted Jesus. But according to Matt 9:10,11 there were plenty of sinners there. Sinners like tax collectors, prostitutes, and Pharisees. In Matt 9:12 Jesus went on to say that "It isn't the healthy that need a doctor but the sick", referring to "bad company" as the sick.
So bad company only corrupts good character some of the time because in Luke it certainly didn't corrupt Jesus. I wonder which time it does corrupt good character. Jesus is our perfect example, our moral compass if you will (WWJD). Jesus said that the sick are the ones that need a physician. By this, Jesus is telling us that that we should influence "the sick", not "the sick" influence us.
The problem with my thinking is that I'm focusing on the "bad company" as being the problem. We shouldn't be surprised when sinners sin. When around "bad company" we should expect them to act in ways that we may not approve of. Good character on the other hand is a different story. Good character isn't supposed to go bad.
When Jesus went to the men with leprosy (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus didn't catch it. He healed them. When Jesus hung out with sinners He didn't sin, His good character was incorruptible. In my opinion, the reason for this is because everywhere that He went He looked to serve in as humble and loving way possible. I'm not saying that He served up booze, porn, or drugs. What I am saying is that He served with love, providing what "the sick" really needed, with love. He didn't tell the prostitute and tax collectors "YOUR GOING TO HELLLLLL". That's what He basically told the Pharisees. He loved them and encouraged them to repent.
So with all of that, I have to make the declaration that bad company does NOT corrupt good character! However, I will say that bad company corrupts average character or bad company corrupts mediocre character.
The type of ministry that Jesus did is not for the faint of heart. We like to compare ourselves to the disciples and hope that we can find similarities. The fact is that Jesus did not let His disciples minister to "bad company" unequipped. Jesus told them to wait on the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, John 14: 16,17) after He was crucified. The reason was He knew that they must have the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to endure and maintain there good character.
God has called us to witness in the highways and byways (Luke 14:23). He wants us to server others. You've heard the saying that "love is a verb", well Christianity should be an action word too. Am I telling you to go to a bar alone to witness? Absolutely not! However, you should listen to the Holy Spirit and go where He draws you. If you find yourself in a situation where you aren't serving the "bad company" that you are around, you should probably ask yourself why you are there.
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